The global health pandemic has altered several examination and university admission activities due to the sudden closure of educational centres and the prevailing deteriorating situation in the country.

To tackle the growing concern of students and parents regarding the numerous entrance examinations and admission procedures, the institutions have adopted the virtual facilities.

Online examinations, classes, admission registrations, counselling sessions, etc. have been organised to provide an alternative for the regular activities in the wake of the novel coronavirus across the globe. Moreover, several other steps were also taken to provide flexible educational platforms to the students. 

Important updates for candidates planning to appear for GMAT

Indian institutions and educational centres offering management students as a post-graduation course have also been seen to adapt to virtual mediums for their deliverables. The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) launched its portal, allowing students to take online examinations after the closure of entrance exam centres.

This step was taken as a temporary initiative to tackle the growing concern of students amidst the coronavirus outbreak. Here are some more important updates pertaining to GMAT that the candidates must note: – 

• Candidates from different corners of the country were allowed to take the online exam for enrolling in business schools. However, GMAC which owns and administers the GMAT entrance examination has announced that the online exam portals will be made available till the end of the year 2020. 
• The authorities have been working rigorously to adapt to the new normal and make a shift to the virtual means of education and learning. Therefore, the GMAT entrance exam will be allowing hundreds of students to get enrolled in eminent management institutions of the country for a master’s program. 
• The council also announced that the portal for Executive Assessment Online Test would remain open for aspirants till the end of the year 2020. Executive Assessment Online test is designed on a similar pattern as that of GMAT, allowing Executive MBA aspirants to get admitted to a business school. 
• The authorities have allowed students to opt for flexible examination medium as per their conveniences. If the coronavirus statistics show a downfall and the situation gets under controlled, then candidates would be allowed to refer to their test centres. However, the option for online examination is made available for the students as well. – The council has also stated that due to the continuous evolution of the business world and the corporate markets, the GMAC will also be embracing changes whenever necessary. 

GMAT Online Exam vs Test Centre GMAT: Which one to choose?

A comparison between GMAT Online Exam and Test Centre GMAT plays a key role in determining the choice of the aspirants. This will allow candidates to analyse both the scenarios and choose the best option fit for them.

As per the report, several GMAT test centres have re-opened across several countries. However, certain test centres have been closed throughout, whereas some have been allowing limited capacity for public gatherings.

Moreover, due to the closure of public transportation facilities at several places, students have been facing the dilemma to either drop out or risk their lives for the examination. Therefore, the decision of online entrance examination came in favour of students who preferred staying indoors amidst the travel and public gathering restrictions. 

The examination pattern for online and offline mode remains the same. However, the Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section will be removed from the online exam paper. The section featured an essay writing question with a 30-minute duration.

Therefore, it would be excluded from all the candidates opting for an online entrance exam option. Apart from this, both the tests will feature a similar structure, number of questions, number of items, duration, etc.

Moreover, as per the guidelines and updates, the online test will follow the same coring algorithm and score scales as the test centre exam. The sectional scores and total score analysis will be done through a similar pattern. 

The authorities acknowledged a growing concern of the candidates, restricting them from taking physical notes during the GMAT Online Exam.

Therefore, the GMAT council addressed the issue and allowed the candidates to utilise a physical whiteboard and an online whiteboard tool for the same. This allowed students to experience a flexible mode of examination amidst the complex situation due to the pandemic.

The GMAT council has made the examination available in different global markets impacted by the pandemics. However, several centres like Mainland China, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Sudan have been excluded from the online examination facilities due to their regulatory restrictions.

Globally, the online examination costs $200 has been hosted on the online portal of mba.com. Candidates can get themselves registered on the site for the test. 

Is online GMAT the permanent solution?

Students, parents, and other authorities have been questioning whether the online GMAT examination facility serves as a permanent solution or not. Due to the unavailability of any further alternative post the year 2020 in the educational sector, the authorities believe that the GMAT online test looks set to stay.

Admission consultants have been urging for permanent solutions to provide flexibility to the aspirants of the several management institutions. Therefore, the GMAC has stated that they would continue to open up the test availability post the year 2020. 

The GMAC has been working on making the online examination mode more acceptable. Students are looking forward to pushing authorities to accept their online exam score for several years onward.

Moreover, several business schools have been mentioning that the online approach is an exception for 2021 admission. Candidates coming from 124 countries of the world have been sending their scores to more than 2,000 business schools across different nations of the world.

The online test approach has also made the schools comfortable in accepting the GMAT Online test for evaluating the candidates. 

The authorities have also been comparing the outcomes of the exams conducted in test centres and exam conducted through online modes.

It has been observed that the scoring outcomes from both situations have been the same. Moreover, the purpose, scoring structure as well as other parameters, have also been kept the same for both online and offline test modes.   

Stay connected with fellow students on PaGaLGuY for CAT Exam 2020 Discussion
Stay connected with fellow students on PaGaLGuY for GMAT Exam Discussions